


Kindred Spirits

by kmsquill



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dream Team SMP Setting (Video Blogging RPF), BooTWT, HonkTWT - Freeform, Kindred Spirits, Late Night Conversations, Memory boys, MemoryTWT, Mild Hurt/Comfort, enderman boy, implied karlnap but thats not the focus lmao, other mentioned characters - Freeform, platonic dont be weirdchamp, rainy day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29751306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kmsquill/pseuds/kmsquill
Summary: Karl Jacobs is alone out in Kinoko Kingdom. But when a mysterious figure he doesn't know shows up nearby, he can't help but feel a sudden connection to the boy he's never seen before.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs & Ranboo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60
Collections: Ranboo Is Best Boi





	Kindred Spirits

**Author's Note:**

> ive been wanting to work with dynamic stuff with these guys but holy shit this feels so scuffed LMAO im tired and just getting this done don't look at this too closely i dont like it that much
> 
> my two favorites character wise i cant wait for their canon interactions please
> 
> hope you enjoy!

It was raining in Kinoko Kingdom.

Karl peered outside at the sullen gray clouds slowly rolling over his small abode, the rain trickling against the walls and stopping just before the gaping entrance covered by the second floor above. He held a small journal in his hands, his fingers gently tracing the newly forged papers that he certainly didn’t want to damage. _ It’s so rainy here. I don’t know what that means, and I can’t decide whether I like it or not. It's nice to listen to, I guess, but... _

He wrinkled his nose before retreating further into his home, crossing the dried grass underfoot and going behind the large mushroom in the corner of the room, slowly lifting up the bookshelf hiding his secret quarters. He tucked his book under his arm and carried a torch to guide his way down the rickety ladders, hearing the gentle creaks under his feet before the quiet thud of his feet planting on the ground below him.

There was an instant buzzing noise in his ears when he entered the room, numbing the back of his ears and making the back of his head feel stuffed. He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly before opening them and staring up at the crinkling posters hanging up on the walls. The journals were placed in small cases in front of them, details of what the posters truly entailed.

_ And the journeys from them. All their details, all the memories from them... _

Karl exhaled again, rubbing his face before walking over and opening the chest full of empty notebooks ready to be filled with more travels. He set the empty journal in beside them, closing the chest and glancing around the room for another moment. The most recent tale, a western story encompassing almost every classical wild west stereotype, was perched beside him and wavered slightly as he walked by it. This book was much thinner than the other ones, but luckily it had been a lot happier than the other ones as well. 

_ At least that story had a happy ending. _

The buzzing in his ears turned into a dull ringing, and Karl touched his temples with a wince. His eyes felt heavier assessing the books staring him down, breathing heavily onto his neck about the stories he couldn’t forget.  While he hadn’t traveled for a few days, it was still taking a toll on him. He felt like his body was still plunged back into time, his shoulders bearing the weight of every single timeline he was bouncing through. It was exhausting. _Geez… I need a break._

_ I wish Quackity was here. Or Sapnap. _ Some company would’ve been nice. But Quackity had been missing for ages, not even knowing the location of Kinoko. George was nowhere to be found as per usual, and Sapnap had gone back to the main city for some time. It wasn’t a big deal; Karl at least trusted Sapnap to come back.

But it was still lonely without him. 

He rubbed his face, letting out a sigh and backing up towards the ladders as the notebooks continued to bask in their cases. All of the stories, all of the things he couldn’t forget.  _ I have to remember it all… I can’t forget even one detail. The smallest thing could save everyone. _

_ I could save everyone. I NEED to save everyone. _

His heart had started to quicken with his spinning thoughts, feeling his pulse through his fingertips. The air around him started to feel thinner, his lungs reaching for any fresh bit of air, and he jerked his body around quickly to scramble back up the ladder. He didn’t care when he was outside of the room; he made a dash towards the outside world and didn’t stop until he was in the small stretch of open plains between his new home and the small forest surrounding them.

Karl was finally jerked back to the present by the quiet tapping on his skin, touching his frazzled nerves and carrying away the anxious feeling with each rain droplet slowly sliding down his body. He blinked back up at the sky, squinting to keep any stray droplets from poking his eyes and raising a hand to let the rain form around his fingertips. It was Mother Nature’s gentle reassurance, and he let himself smile and breathe in her grasp.

_ I can feel the rain, gently sliding down every piece of my skin it can touch. I can smell the damp flowers around me. I can see the saturated greens of the grass and leaves surrounding me. _

_ I’m here. I’m real. _

He felt his breathing slow down over time, the pressure in his chest slowly giving away and letting his shoulders unclench. He let out another long breath after a while, blinking his eyes open and looking around. Everything around him seemed to grow rich in color with the rain’s nutrients. The reds of the poppies littered around were bursting with ruby tinges, and the dandelions were glowing golden bulbs scattered around and gently rubbing up against the birch trees they were planted aside.

Karl continued to smile, but the peaceful cloudiness of his mind was whisked away when he saw movement up near the house within the trees, a large shadow he couldn’t decipher. It seemed to be unmoving, only barely swaying before moving away. He frowned, crouching down and hustling up behind a tree to shelter himself from the eyesight of the other and the rain still dripping above him. His heart had quickened again, alarm blaring through his body. 

_ There’s no way George or Sapnap would be that sneaky, even if they were trying to scare me.  _

_ Who is it? Who found our home? _

Karl felt at his side for a moment, but swore softly when he realized he didn’t have any weapons on him. He was barebacked; no armor or weapons could protect him from the potential threat.  _ Please tell me it’s not Dream or someone who’s going to reveal our location and put the tales in danger. _

He took a few deep breaths, clenching his fists and readying them in case. But when he slowly maneuvered his way out from under the branches, getting closer to the figure, it was someone he barely recognized.

It was the same tall shadowy figure he had seen initially, mostly black but with a stark contrast of white on the other side of his face. The eye on his black side was blazing green while the eye on his white side was glowing red, both of his eyes flared wide open when he glanced up at the branches sagging above him with moisture. He had a long tail feathered at the end, flicking rapidly, and the long horns coming from his head brushed the leaves of the tree beside him.

Karl squinted suspiciously, hiding behind another tree closer to the being and watching him as he shuffled closer to the trunk, letting out a faint but worried chirping noise.  _ He almost looks like an enderman… But a bit more sentient. A bit more, uh… Living, I guess, than they usually are. Maybe he's got some relations? _

Despite his size, however… He didn’t look like a threat. If anything, his face seemed to be full of fear when he looked around him, reaching out towards the rain but then quickly pulling back with a soft hiss of pain. He held his long clawed hand close, staring at it with a tight frown, and Karl felt a small pang in his chest.  _ Endermen don’t like rain. So if he’s related to an enderman somehow… That would make sense. _

There was another quiet tug in the back of his mind, a small whisper inviting him to follow his gut reaction. It was dangerous; meeting someone and helping him, especially this close to his house, could lead to WAY too many risks.  _ He could see the books. He could tell others about this location. It could be really, really bad. _

And yet, the way his face was molded into some sort of sadness and loneliness as he hunched up as close as he could to the tree away from the rain, the way his jittery form almost felt familiar… He knew it wasn’t a good idea, but...

_ I can’t just leave him in the rain like this. _

Karl let out one last final breath before slowly emerging from behind the tree, approaching the slouched figure. When the figure hadn’t looked up at him, his face buried in his knees, Karl made his steps purposely louder as he squelched through the wet grass under his feet.

Finally, the character jerked his head up, his eyes wide. He backed up more against the tree, eyes wide as he stared in surprised silence at Karl for a moment. Karl stared right back at him, showing his palms up with as much innocence as he could muster. His voice felt tense, pressing into his throat as he spoke slowly, “Hey, um… Sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh… To startle you.”

The creature blinked rapidly for a moment, his fear and surprise wafting over to faint confusion and vivid curiosity. His narrow head tipped to one side, studying Karl’s sagging sweatshirt and jeans fitted around his body. He was silent for another long moment, looking more hesitant as he spoke out loud, “Do I… Do I know you?”

Karl blinked back at him for a moment as well, the slow realization coming in.  _ I don’t… Recognize him. Someone I haven’t met yet on the server. _

_ Yet why does he feel… Familiar? _

Karl cleared his throat, rubbing his neck with a small smile. “Oh, uh… I don’t… I don’t believe we’ve met, actually. I’m… I’m Karl.”

He took a few steps closer, closing their distance when the creature didn’t try to attack or flinch away. He offered a hand in a proper handshake greeting, and the other boy hesitated for a long moment before one of his long arms slowly unwound from his legs, reaching up and lacing his fingers with Karl’s as he shook his hand back. His grip was surprisingly gentle, as if he were trying his hardest not to clamp his longer claws down on Karl’s soft human hands.

“Ranboo,” the creature introduced, giving a timid smile as well. “I was… I was wondering if it was just me that didn’t know if we had met or not. I’m not the best with memory, so I thought I just… Forgot, I suppose.”

Karl let out a soft and sympathetic laugh, shaking his head. “No, no, don’t worry. I don’t have the best memory either.” He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, stepping back slightly to assess his figure more. “You seem… Familiar though. If that’s something.”

Ranboo tilted his head again. “Perhaps… Maybe I’ve seen you around the server before?”

“Yeah…” Karl trailed off, his arms wrapping around his torso as he hugged himself. It was mostly an assurance to himself, trying to clarify that achingly familiar feeling gnawing at his bones. “Yeah, that must be it.”

They regarded each other in silence for another moment, the rain continuing to pour down around them and the leaves quietly shuddering in a soft breeze that grazed beside them. Karl cleared his throat loudly after a moment, and he felt a small guilty twinge when he saw the character jump from the sudden noise. “So, um… What are you doing all the way out here?”

“Oh,” Ranboo’s face grew puzzled, his eyes narrowing in thought as he stared at the ground. “I don’t know, honestly. All I can really remember is that I went for a walk… A journey, I guess. And I guess I just… Ended up here.”

Karl bit his lip, arching an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “That seems like a pretty long walk, if you ask me.”

Ranboo let out a weak laugh, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, yeah. It is, honestly. I wasn’t expecting to come this far.” His face wrinkled up again, seemingly a bit more confused. “I’m not even sure how I got this far. I can’t… I can’t remember.”

Karl studied him again for a long moment, watching his claws twitch as they moved to the grass below him and picked at the small blades around him. He could feel his suspicions growing more, but it was contradictory with the genuine confusion and exhaustion on the child’s face.  _ I’m not sure whether to believe this guy or not, but… I suppose I can give him some benefit of the doubt. _

“Wow,” Karl let himself speak after the silence, trying to humor the situation. “You really do have memory problems, huh?”

To his relief, Ranboo laughed softly in response. “Yeah, yeah. I really do.”

Karl let himself smile back, glancing over at the house standing to their right. It was blocked by a few trees, but it wasn’t far enough that walking there would be tedious. He could feel the tightrope of decisions he was balancing on tremble for a moment as he regarded the potential timeline shifts in the back of his head.  _ Is it better if I befriend him and give him shelter? Or is it better if I just leave him alone? _

The boy in front of him shivered almost automatically after that thought, his tail curling up around his legs, and Karl’s heart quietly melted.  _ Okay, nope. Not leaving him out here. _

“Would you like to come to my house?” Karl offered, his words sounding slightly rushed. “It’s not that far, and it’s out of the rain. Out of the cold.”

Ranboo’s long ears perked up, but his expression still shifted with uncertainty. “Are you… Are you sure? I really don’t want to impose.” He gave the rain nearby a disdainful expression. “If it’s a bit far from here, I really don’t… Want to walk in the rain.”

“It’s not far,” Karl promised, pointing towards his right. Ranboo’s eyes followed his finger, squinting to peer at the wood through the leaves. “See? Right through there. You have mostly tree coverage, but there is the small section of open ground you’ll have to run through to get inside.”

Ranboo hesitated for another moment, his fingers tapping on his legs thoughtfully. Finally, he slowly pressed his feet into the ground and lifted himself up slowly. Karl nearly choked on his breath when the figure rose to what seemed to be near a foot above him. Ranboo immediately ducked to be closer to Karl’s height, giving him a weak smile. “If that’s really okay with you, um… I’d love to.”

Karl forced aside his envy, swallowing and nodding. “Okay, cool! Just follow me; we’ll maneuver under the branches, okay?”

The quiet shifting of Ranboo behind him answered him, and Karl started along below the branches slowly. He ducked under the thicker patches where branches from trees beside each other overlapped, almost completely dry as he walked under them. He glanced back at Ranboo, seeing his shoulders visibly release in tension as well as he ducked under the branches to stay in their dry coverage.

Karl moved his way along until the branches thinned out, Karl standing out in the rainfall while Ranboo stayed behind him under the remaining branches. He glanced back at the quivering figure, who had let out a quiet whimper and had taken an instinctive step back. “Uh… That still seems… Quite far, if I’m totally honest.”

Karl glanced between the house and the tree where Ranboo resided, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in thought.  _ Hmm… How could we do this? _

A brief idea flashed in his mind, and he gave a small bounce as he raised his palms out at Ranboo, gesturing for him to stay. “Wait here; I have an idea.”

Ranboo blinked, not getting a chance to reply as Karl raced out into the rain back towards his home. He heard the tapping reduce and hollow out as he entered his wooden structure, going over to the storage chests up against the dirt wall and fishing around for a moment before finding what he was looking for; a stack of wooden slabs. He hoisted them up, walking out and studying the length between the house and Ranboo for a moment before jumping up, placing a slab. It secured itself on the corner of the house, and Karl gave himself a small grin as he built a small roofed path going over to Ranboo’s tree.

Ranboo was quiet when he came up, blinking wide eyes as Karl fastened a slab that brushed against the leaves above him. He looked over at Karl, a hopeful expression on his face. “Will that work?”

“It should!” Karl replied cheerfully, smiling warmly back at him and stepping under the path. To his joy, the wooden slabs were enough to cover their heads from the rain. There was still rain threatening the edges of the wood and could potentially drip onto their shoulders, but it was much better than being out in the open. “Come on, I’ll lead you along the path! You just need to hop around the corner at the end, but that’s literally the only area that isn’t covered.”

Ranboo nodded slowly, ducking further and moving slowly below the wooden slabs that were placed. He folded his shoulders closer to himself, his hands clasped nervously as his tail trailed quietly behind his feet where they stepped on the wet ground below. 

As Karl observed the wet grass below, he asked him wondrously, “So do you not like it hitting your head? Can you handle it on your feet?”

Ranboo shuffled his feet at the mention of them, following the small turn Karl led him along. He was still nervously eyeing the empty plains around them being splattered with rain, but he answered, “I don’t mind it on my feet too much since it’s just wet grass… But if it were a deep puddle, for example, that wouldn’t be fun.”

Ranboo seemed to think for a moment as they continued walking before explaining, “I don’t mind the rain as much as I do like… Actual bodies of water, if that makes sense. I’m not wearing any armor right now, which is why it bothers me more, but with my armor it’s not that bad. If this were a lake, though… That would’ve been worse.”

“Oh.” Karl paused for a moment, biting his lip. He looked back at Ranboo with a small frown, but he felt small bubbles of amusement at his own embarrassment take place in his chest. “I guess I could’ve just given you a helmet then, huh?”

Ranboo let out another laugh, giving him a sheepish smile afterwards. “Yeah, I guess you could’ve.”

“Hmph,” Karl harrumphed, folding his arms. As Ranboo let out another quiet laugh behind him, however, he knew it wasn’t that big of a deal.  _ The slabs can be removed easily anyways. It also helped keep more of his body dry than a helmet would’ve anyways.  _ Besides, it was worth it to hear the nervous child relax enough to laugh with him at his antics. He let himself relax a bit more and smile back at Ranboo, nodding. “You good to just hop around the corner with me? You’ll get right under the roof, I promise.”

Ranboo’s eyes had been traveling along the structure, studying the architecture with round eyes full of awe. When Karl spoke at him, he looked back down and nodded slowly. Karl nodded back, turning forwards and hopping out from under the slabs. He felt a quick tsprinkle of rain over his hair before he made it around the corner into his home, the dry grass underneath him rough compared to the slick blades outside from the rain.

He turned back, waiting for Ranboo to follow. There was a small pause, Karl worrying that perhaps Ranboo had backed out after all, when he heard a small yelp and quickly saw Ranboo scurry inside. Karl couldn’t suppress a small giggle as Ranboo stumbled beside him, turning and looking outside with a frazzled expression.

At Karl’s laugh, he blushed in embarrassment and looked away. Feeling a small prickle of guilt at laughing at him, Karl tapped his arm and guided him back up towards the stairs. “Here, come with me. The top floor is much cozier than it is down here. Down here is just a lot of storage stuff really.”

Ranboo let out a small hum in acknowledgement, glancing over at the large mushroom in the room as he followed Karl up the wooden stairs. “It’s… Nice here. Very, um... Natural. Naturistic, I think.”

Karl suppressed another giggle, nodding in thanks with a smile. “Thank you. There hasn’t been too much done down there yet, but up here…”

He let his voice trail off, glancing over at Ranboo to watch his expression. The room was boarded up with actual solid wood underneath their feet instead of grass, tall bookshelves stretching around them towards the sloping roof above. There was a small wooden balcony near the end of the room, uncovered and exposed to the rain, but the rest of the room sat in a comfortable warm orange glow of the lanterns and mushroom lights giving them visibility.

“Oh…” Ranboo murmured, the golden reflection in his eyes bringing out the small hidden hints of purple dancing around in his green and red depths. “It’s… Wow.”

“Pretty nice, isn’t it?” Karl smiled, folding his arms and tilting his chin high. “I totally built this. Definitely. All by myself, no other help at all.”

Ranboo glanced down at him, studying him for a moment before breaking into a small smile. “Someone else built this section, didn’t they?”

Karl sagged in response, making Ranboo laugh softly again. He huffed, rolling his eyes. “Whatever! The point is, it’s basically mine and it’s awesome.”

“It is,” Ranboo agreed, a soft smile on his face as he wandered through the room. His claws reached out, gently touching the ends of the bookshelves as his eyes glowed with bright wonder. “What are all of these books you have in here?”

“Oh, just a lot of general history and information stuff,” Karl explained, letting his own fingers run against the smooth wooden frames around him. “Lots of just the basic Minecraftian books you see laying around.”

_ Definitely not my private collection,  _ Karl thought, relieved that he had brought Ranboo up here to avoid him potentially nosing around the mushroom and finding the secret entrance. Karl thumbed through the book nearest to him, seeing a quick guide on how to make sustainable farms before shifting it back into its slot. 

Ranboo nodded, his gaze growing more pensive and thoughtful as he continued to linger around and study the books. He mostly seemed to glance at the titles and put them back afterwards, but there were a couple where he flipped open the first few pages and skimmed them with a curious spark in his eyes before putting them back. 

As he neared the end of the room and the collection of books, however, he glanced back at the room with a weak smile. “It’s odd, I feel… I feel weirdly tense in here, but also relaxed?” He laughed at himself, shaking his head and giving Karl another sheepish expression. “Is that a thing? Am I weird?”

Karl tilted his head, smiling in thought for a moment. It was definitely a peaceful atmosphere; the homely glow around him made him feel so safe and secure. There were so many nights where he either curled up by himself or with Sapnap and just read for hours, curious about so many of the world’s hidden secrets or general knowledge that he didn’t know still.

But he also remembered his special room, the posters draped above him and staring him down with memories. The books perched right below them, whispering their own tales and beckoning Karl back in to figure out every hidden detail, every single connection he could make to their present world. He definitely had many sleepless nights thanks to those adventures keeping him up, trying to tie up every loose end and tie all of the stories together while also trying to harbor his own memories.

“No,” Karl finally responded, shaking his head after his thoughts slowly receded. He smiled up at Ranboo, feeling a wave of sympathy. “I know what you mean, actually. Like there’s relaxation with a majority of books, but others that… Um…”

His heart twisted for a moment, wondering if he had already said too much, but Ranboo’s voice sounded far away as he finished off quietly, “That feel so grueling to look back at sometimes. Like the pages themselves have turned to tar with contents that, um…”

Ranboo trailed off at this point, looking nervous. Karl felt a bursting wave of curiosity wash over him, but he immediately slammed it down.  _ I wouldn’t want him asking about the Tales. I don’t want to dig into it, especially since I barely know him. _

_ Right? I don’t know him at all, right? _

The confusing fuzziness clouded his senses again, and he gave a brief shake of his head to try and clear some of it out before moving aside, standing just inside the balcony to avoid the rain but stand close enough to still smell it outside and listen to it gently patter on the wood beside him. Quiet footsteps tapped behind him, and Ranboo was soon beside him looking out at the rain.  For a while, no one spoke. The only noise filling the room was the rain outside and the quiet  _ whoosh  _ of a flame flickering or tapping against the glass it was trapped inside. Karl could hear the trickling of the rain near the roof, focusing on that as his mind soaked in the comfortable silence.

Then Ranboo shuddered slightly, folding his arms around his body. With a sharp flash of guilt, he let out a small yelp. Ranboo blinked rapidly beside him, jerking back into reality, and Karl fretted, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Here, hold on, come with me.”

He grabbed the enderman’s slender wrist, guiding him quickly over to the corner where he usually nestled in with a book on his bed. Karl made Ranboo sit on the bed beside the lantern, quickly digging around the small food inventory they had upstairs before pulling out a bowl and whipping up a quick and steamy serving of mushroom stew. He passed it onto Ranboo before grabbing a fluffy purple blanket laying nearby, shaking it out before shuffling behind Ranboo and draping it over his shoulders.

Karl shifted back around so he was sitting near the end of the bed, facing Ranboo. He had remained silent throughout the entire process, only blinking in surprise as he studied the blanket secured over his shoulders before looking down at the soup cupped in his hands. After a moment to adjust to what had happened, he lifted the bowl up and sipped delicately at the contents, letting out a satisfied hum and sipping it a little more before settling it down into his lap.

“Thank you, Karl,” Ranboo finally murmured, giving him a shy smile. “I honestly wasn’t expecting that much hospitality; I was content enough to just be out of the rain.”

“Oh, nonsense!” Karl insisted, waving a hand amicably. “It would be rude of me not to help you out and keep you warm. Besides, I don’t want you getting a cold or having to travel back on an empty stomach or a shivering mess.”

Karl himself shivered and Ranboo shuffled, about to sling the blanket off and probably offer it to him instead. Karl let out a protesting hum, shaking his head rapidly and pointing at him as he stood up and moved over to a small area of clothes set up near his bedside. “Nope, nope! Keep that on, I already have something I can use.”

Ranboo hesitated, but finally submitted as he sipped at his bowl again while Karl moved his way through his sweatshirts. Ranboo kept his eyes away from Karl and out towards the balcony as he quickly switched out of his wet purple sweatshirt into a larger, much more warm and comfortable black sweatshirt that sagged around his wrists and draped over his hips comfortably. Karl quickly changed into a comfortable pair of sweats as well, satisfied with the new warm and plush feeling he had with his dry and thicker layers as he plopped back down on the bed.

Ranboo felt the bed dip and returned his gaze back to Karl, smiling weakly. “Thank you again for helping me out there. I seriously don’t know how I ended up this far; I don’t really live near here, so… It’s surprising I ended up this far.”

“Where do you live?” Karl inquired curiously, leaning towards him. He felt much more bubbly and content with his comfortable wear, as well as the soothing environment of the library around them feeding into his new confidence.

Ranboo hesitated again, his tail curling around his legs as he folded them up to his chest again and leaned back against the wall. He set aside the empty bowl of soup and wrapped the blanket around himself more, burrowing into it as he admitted, “It’s, um… Just far away. Far away from the main area.”

Karl let out a long hum, but decided not to press him further. He scooted back on the bed to make more room for himself on the end, folding his legs into a criss-cross pattern and tucking his hands under his legs. He let his gaze roam back outside to the rain, but his curiosity was still quietly kneading in the back of his mind as he glanced back over at the enderman. He was huddled up in his little blanket, his body mostly relaxed, but his expression seemed terse and uncertain, as if trying to recollect something.

“Um…” Karl mumbled, punching himself internally when he caught Ranboo’s attention unintentionally. He removed his hands from under his legs, folding them together as he pressed on slowly, “If… If you live so far away, how did you even end up here?” Realizing his redundancy, he tried to explain, "It's just that, you know... Usually you can travel by trident or horse or something. But since you're saying you've come such a long way... It's just surprising you don't remember how you ended up here and you don't have anything on you."

Ranboo's expression drooped slightly, and Karl stammered, "Sorry, sorry! I'm not trying to be rude, I swear. I can shut up if I need to."

Ranboo’s brow furrowed, and he let out a frustrated sigh that made Karl twitch anxiously as his gaze focused on a spot on the ground. “I honestly don’t know, really. I guess I was just…”

Ranboo paused for a long moment, glancing back outside at the rain. He suddenly looked far away, his expression much more vacant. His voice was much more subdued, quiet as he admitted, “Some days, don’t you just wanna… Get away from everything? Doesn’t it ever feel like… Like too much?” He ran a clawed hand through the tuft of hair weaving over his long ears and around his horns, twitching on his temple as his cheeks seemed more sunken in with thoughts. “I wanted to just… Wander, you know? Get away from what was bothering me, get away from where people could try to talk to me and pressure me… I didn't care or even notice how far I had gone until too late, I suppose. I just needed to… To go.”

He glanced back up at Karl, his expression shifting to a brief moment of fear as he shuffled in his blanket, attempting to press himself up against the wall behind him as he rambled out, “Sorry, sorry, that was a lot. I wasn’t trying to vent or overshare, but it just…”

“No.” Karl cut him off, his brain quietly ticking gently. It was making so many connections, a small flicker of warmth and pure sympathy pulsing in his fingertips as he reached for him and set his hand down on the blankets in front of his feet. “I get it, really. That’s what I did coming out here. It was… Well, safer, I suppose. For multiple reasons.”

He swallowed, hurrying on quickly before he was asked for an elaboration, “So don’t feel bad for venting. I honestly can relate to that so much, and I’m not judging you for it. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was; I promise I'm not. I'm more concerned that you're just farther away from home than you thought, so I just...” He rubbed his neck, giving him a weak smile. "I just wanna make sure you're okay."

Ranboo blinked at him, his eyes slightly widened with surprise. "Oh, that... Thank you, Karl. I appreciate that." The tension in his body was slowly released, the blanket flowing much more smoothly over his relaxed shoulders as he gave him a weak smile. “Wow, we’re really… Similar.”

“Yeah,” Karl chuckled softly, letting himself scoot closer to him but still at an arm’s length away from touching the boy’s knee. He matched his smile, his thumbs twiddling together. “I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to ramble to me, honestly. I know we just met and all, but… It’s a huge honor that you felt safe enough with me to share that.”

Ranboo’s eyes glistened with gratitude, and he nodded back silently with the weak smile still curled on his lips. He looked as if he were about to say something else, but he turned away and pulled his knees up tighter to his chest and flicked his tail out, the end of it twitching. Karl waited patiently, forcing his gaze away and down to his hands as he lingered in the slightly stiff silence.  _ If he wants to say more, I’m here to listen. But I don’t wanna force him to say anything he's not comfortable with. _

“Karl?” Ranboo asked after a while, his voice having a much softer tone than Karl was expecting. It was timid and young, but heavy with knowledge and weariness as he continued on in his quieter tone, “Don’t you ever feel like… Like the world rests on your shoulders?”

Karl’s throat closed up, and he struggled to breathe for a moment. He gripped the bed sheets below him tightly in his fists, gearing himself back down into reality as he quietly choked out, “Y… Yeah, actually.”

Ranboo glanced back over to him, blinking rapidly again. “Really?”

Karl nodded slowly, the books hidden downstairs returning to his thoughts. So many pages full of timelines and events in history that couldn’t be forgotten, empty journals waiting for the new adventures to fill them up as well. It was all still tugging at his brain, making his fingers tap against his knees to let out the anxious jitters. 

“Yeah…” Karl continued on, clearing his throat and his airway as he shuffled, his sweatshirt ruffling up around his body as he pulled his legs up into himself again. He moved his eyes out towards the rain and the darkening sky outside, plunging them into darkness entirely besides the glowing lanterns inside the house. “I feel like sometimes I… I just can’t breathe, you know? Like so many decisions are weighing on my shoulders, and I can’t fix them all.”

He could hear Ranboo’s hushed breathing in the moment of silence, but he moved his eyes down to his feet to avoid his avid stare piercing the side of his face. Despite the intense stare, however, Ranboo’s voice was still just as faint as it had been before as he followed up softly, “And how you feel like you could change everything, but… It could be for the worst. And how you can’t save those you care about.”

Karl’s heart clenched tightly in his chest, the sudden burning of tears in the corner of his eyes. He blinked rapidly, startled by how strongly Ranboo’s words had affected him.  _ He’s so right, though… I want to save the ones I love. I want to save everyone, no matter what the cost. I want to give everyone the happy endings they deserve. _

_ Quackity. Sapnap. Tommy.  _

_ And now… Even Ranboo. _

Karl still felt the uneven breaths of air in his throat trying to claw their way out, and he took a moment to squeeze his eyes shut and get his breathing under control. Ranboo was waiting quietly, the quiet shuffling of the bed being the only noise as he gave Karl the silence he needed to focus. He felt a wave of immense gratitude for the boy's patience, hoping he knew how much Karl appreciated it in that moment. 

When Karl had regained control of his breathing and had mostly calmed down, he sniffed and rubbed his nose and eyes with his sleeve before giving Ranboo a teary-eyed smile. “Wow, we’re… We’re like kindred spirits or something. I don't think I've clicked with someone like this in a while. Are we sure you’re not related to me?”

Ranboo laughed, but his laugh sounded just as hoarse as Karl’s voice was from the emotions they had just gone through. He gave the man an apologetic look, rubbing his neck. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to strike a nerve or anything.”

“No, no,” Karl quickly reassured, rubbing his face again with his hands and giving himself a small shake before laughing softly. “No, trust me, you didn’t. It was just… Really accurate. It caught me off guard with how accurate it was.”

Ranboo smiled knowingly, exhaustion and pain creeping back over his face as he shuffled down in his blanket a little closer to the bed as he glanced back outside for a moment. “Yeah… I guess we’re both just trying to save the world in our own ways, aren’t we?”

Karl chuckled again, sniffing before following his gaze. The rain was slowly stopping, only the occasional dripping accompanying their voices. Through the cloud coverage that had been over them the entire time, there was a small opening that had two stars winking down at them up in the dark blue sky. “Yeah. I guess so.”

Ranboo didn’t speak any further, and the two boys took a moment of silence to stare outside and listen to the fading trickles of the last bits of rain before it subsided, leaving only the gentle flickering of the lanterns to occupy them. Karl closed his eyes, letting himself smile slightly. Despite everything still burdening his shoulders, just as Ranboo had said, he felt somewhat lighter. 

_I haven't told anyone about anything that's been happening, not even Sapnap. And even though it's a complete stranger... I feel like I've known him for ages. I already feel like he knows me better than other people do._

After the peaceful moments of silence, Karl stretched his arms above his head and his legs out in front of him with a garbled noise to accompany his body’s stretching. As Ranboo chuckled at his odd noise, Karl stretched his feet out and slid himself off the bed, giving the boy an affirming smile. “You take the bed for tonight and head out in the morning when you’re ready, okay?”

Ranboo’s smile faded, replaced with a surprised and uncertain expression. “Are you sure? I really don’t want to over exude, especially since it’s stopped raining. I should probably be getting home anyway…”

Karl shook his head, pointing a finger at him and giving him another confident smile. “I am definitely certain. You stay here and sleep for the night. If you sneak out without saying goodbye to me, I’m going to be very upset and track down where you live just to yell at you.”

Ranboo let out a small chuckle, watching as Karl snagged a nearby torch to help him see in the darkened room. He tilted his head, glancing around the room before meeting eyes again with Karl. “What about you? Where are you sleeping?”

“Oh…” Karl bit his lip, a rise of anxiety and a sharp warning ringing in his ears. All of the conversations he had carefully avoided to keep his secrets teetered on the edge of his tongue.  _ Don’t say it! Don’t say something dumb! _

Despite the warnings though, he let himself admit quietly, “I’ve got a… Secret area I like to hide away. I, um… Have some private journals I need to keep up on.”

Ranboo blinked, a flicker of interest in his eyes, but it quickly faded and was replaced with a deeper understanding as he nodded. He adjusted himself so he was under the covers of the bed, the thick blanket he had still covering his body as he shimmied under. “Ah, I understand. Alright, no worries. Have a good night, Karl.”

Karl was shell-shocked for a moment, staring down at the boy who had only gotten more comfortable in the bed after his confession. He was used to having to snap at Sapnap and hide away from him before he could find his secret, having to deal with his bitterness as well when he came back. He was expecting more of a burning curiosity, maybe even an intrusive question that Karl would have to awkwardly avoid.

But Ranboo only had a knowing look in his eyes, giving Karl a small wave before yawning and turning himself around, his back to Karl and the front of his body pointing towards the balcony at the end of the room. Karl let a wide and relieved smile break out on his face, his steps retreating as he whispered to potentially sleeping ears, “Goodnight, Ranboo. Thank you.”

When he got no further response from the figure drifting off to sleep, he turned around and headed back down the stairs. The wooden stairs luckily weren’t creaking as much as usual, allowing a quiet trip down towards the mushroom in the corner hiding his room. He lifted the shelf up, slipping back down the ladders and exhaling slowly before looking around.

The posters and books laid untouched, still whispering and beckoning him into their allure. He could feel the empty notebooks waiting to be touched and filled with new adventures and memories, the only capsules to his power over the future.

Karl exhaled slowly, cracking his knuckles. Despite the nighttime settling in and the previous anxieties he had over his adventures, he felt a surge of energy and determination.

_ If traveling through time is the only way I can help those around me, then I’m gonna do my part. I don’t care what anxieties or fears I may have; I have to do this. _

_ But I'm not alone. Everyone's trying to get a happy ending in their own way. If I can figure out what they want, maybe I can help them and save them all. _

_ I’m not gonna let Ranboo or anyone else I care about down. I'm doing this for them.  _

**Author's Note:**

> comments, reshares, and kudos are greatly appreciated! <3


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